Nigeria to increase cocoa production to 500,000mt by 2015

MINISTER of Agriculture Dr Akinwumi Adesina has unveiled plans by the Federal Government to double cocoa production from 250,000metric tonnes by 2015.

Adesina, who delivered a keynote address in Ibadan at the 1st International Cocoa Conference, said 3.6 million hybrid cocoa pods would be distributed free to cocoa farmers to meet the target.

The minister, represented by Dr Talabi Odeyemi, a director in the ministry, said this would lead to the cultivation of 114,000 hectares of cocoa.

Adesina said it was gladdening that the new hybrid cocoa pods were developed by researchers for local farmers.

He, however, called on the private sector to partner with the government in exploring the opportunities in cocoa production.

Adesina called for intensification of efforts toward adding value to cocoa for the country to be a global player in international arena.

In his welcome address, the President, Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Mr Sayina Riman, announced plans to create a data base for the industry and farmers.

Riman said CAN’s vision was to initiate a robust “bean-to-bar database of the cocoa economy.’’

“In a networked and global economy, where traceability has become a major determinant for service delivery provision, policy making and customer experience, we cannot and must not continue to operate in the dark.

“It is, indeed, an embarrassment that we have different accounts or sources of the cocoa output in Nigeria; embarrassing the even more that we do not know for sure how many producers are actively involved in production, indeed, how many are sharecroppers, lien croppers, tenants etc and indeed how many farmlands are under active cultivation and by what farmer,“ he said.